The government has yet to make a decision on which third-level institution or institutions will host a new vet school, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris confirmed to Agriland.
Projects to host a new vet school at South East Technological University (SETU) in Kildalton, University of Limerick (UL), and Atlantic Technological University (ATU) in Mountbellew and Donegal will now be assessed, he said.
All three proposals to create programmes in veterinary medicine were deemed viable by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which announced earlier this year that an additional 230 vets could potentially be trained every year.
Confusion arose after SETU started recruiting for a veterinary medicine programme development lead at its Waterford campus to enable the development and validation of a new degree in veterinary medicine.
Speaking to Agriland at the National Ploughing Championships today (Wednesday, September 20), Minister Harris confirmed that there has been no decision made yet in regards to which institution will host a new vet school.
Vet school
Making a decision will be a matter for Minister Harris and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue. Minister Harris told Agriland that he hopes to make a decision later this year.
Minister Harris said that the government welcomes that universities are now taking the next steps in preparing their full business case, taking their proposal around veterinary schools to the next step.
Commenting that it is his “instinct” that more than one vet school should proceed, Minister Harris, in response to a question by Agriland, said:
“I personally think we should see at least two proceed and I also think we need to move beyond having the only veterinary school in the country, and a very fine one, being based in south Dublin.
“The issues I hear is that there is not a shortage of vets for hamsters and guinea pigs and pet rabbits, but there is a real shortage of vets for late-night calls for large farm animals.”
Courses in veterinary medicine are currently only offered at University College Dublin (UCD). Based on assessment by the HEA, there is also potential to expand the offering in veterinary medicine at UCD.
In a statement to Agriland, SETU said it is recruiting a new senior academic role to support the development and accreditation of a new veterinary medicine programme which is aligned to SETU’s strategic plan.
However, the roll out of this degree in veterinary medicine will require investment from the government and SETU currently awaits a decision on that, according to the statement.